Wan Ronghua is not here today, he went out early.
And in her opinion, this is a great opportunity for her.
As Wan Ronghua's concubine, although she could not be called the mistress, she was more than capable of mobilizing some of the Wan family's servants.
As for how to make Fang Yuan fall... Fang Fang has been following Wan Ronghua for the past few years and has naturally learned a lot.
... .
West of the imperial capital.
Wan Ronghua, who in Fang Fang's mind was a master strategist and never stained with blood, was now sweating on his forehead as he paced back and forth in the courtyard of a mansion in the west of the city.
There was a thick locust tree in the courtyard, with lush branches and leaves. Even in the broad daylight, the courtyard was somewhat shady.
But Wan Ronghua seemed to be feeling very hot, with sweat on his forehead, and he couldn't calm down.
"Is Lord Qin still in seclusion?" He couldn't help but ask the housekeeper next to him.
"Yes, please wait a moment, Mr. Wan." This butler was quite strange. He was an expressionless middle-aged man with a very strong body. His muscles were bulging, holding up his robe high, making people feel intimidated.
But what caught Fang Fang's attention more was that this person's face was very yellow, but it was not a sickly yellow.
Judging from his physique, he doesn't look like a frail and sickly man.
For some reason, Wan Ronghua didn't dare to look at the butler. He subconsciously looked away and continued to wait in the courtyard.
Qin Shiqing is not in a hurry.
Because he is a first-class martial artist and also an official of the imperial court, he is even vaguely related to the Da Dao Sect.
But Wan Ronghua was really anxious.
After learning that Fang Fang's former maid and several others had fallen into the trap and surrendered themselves to the government office, he could no longer sit still.
Although the young woman was threatened by Qiao Mu pretending to be a ghost and confessed her crimes to the government, she naturally did not dare to expose Wan Ronghua as the mastermind behind the scenes.
However, she had already turned herself in to the authorities, so how could she hold back and only reveal part of the truth? Did she think the authorities were fools
This young woman was just an ordinary person. She was coaxed and frightened by the yamen officers, just like she had met Qiao Mu that night. Her psychological defenses were quickly broken and she told the whole truth.
But that doesn't matter.
Even if the government knew that Wan Ronghua was secretly framing Qiao Shuanglin, what could they do
Wan Ronghua is a wealthy man in the imperial capital and a local tyrant. It is impossible for him to have reached his current status and support a wealthy family alone.
Collusion between officials and businessmen has existed since ancient times.
Even if the imperial capital government knew about what Wan Ronghua had done, all they would have to do was spend more money to bribe people.
It's not a big problem, just a minor inconvenience at most, and it won't cause any serious harm to Wan Ronghua.
Wan Ronghua is not afraid of other local tyrants in the imperial capital.
Because local bosses all follow the rules.
But the powerful warrior like Qiao Shuanglin who doesn't follow the rules is the one who gives him a headache.
Wan Ronghua had framed Qiao Shuanglin twice before, but he always hid in the dark and never showed up.
If it weren't for the fact that there happened to be a fight between strange people on the day of the Caishikou incident, Qiao Mu would never have even seen Wan Ronghua.
But... the young woman gave him away.
The government knew that this matter was not terrible, but they were afraid that it had been leaked to another person, or another force.
"Is it the Qiao family? This family is so mysterious. Did they force the woman to surrender to the authorities?"
The more Wan Ronghua thought about it, the more worried he became.
Ever since he discovered that he had inadvertently made enemies with Qiao Shuanglin, he had conducted an in-depth investigation into the Qiao family's background.
He found that the Qiao family was quite protective and vindictive.
If a member of the Qiao family died suddenly, another elder from the Qiao family would arrive soon.
Hitting a younger one will attract an older one.
After beating one old one, an even older one came along.
Wan Ronghua originally thought that Qiao Shuanglin, who was 90 years old, was already a rare centenarian, and there should not be many such elderly people in the Qiao family.
Therefore, if Qiao Shuanglin died, there would not be many people as powerful as him who could easily kill the martial arts masters worshipped by the Wan family.
But out of caution, Wan Ronghua will continue to hide himself.
Unfortunately, plans cannot keep up with changes. The young woman's surrender made Wan Ronghua realize that he might have exposed such a possibility.
"This Qiao family is so disgusting. Do they have any shame? They rely on the Qiao family's prosperity and are not going to fight me to the death..."
Wan Ronghua muttered to himself, enjoying the cool air in the hall, staring at the locust tree in the courtyard in a daze.
At this time, under the sunlight, the expressionless middle-aged butler with a yellow face was walking out from the backyard.
Under the sunlight, the yellow-faced butler's face was faintly glowing, as if his skin was glowing with a faint luster like copper or iron
"Mr. Wan, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. My master has just come out of his retreat room."
Qin Shiqing followed closely behind and walked out. His face was very calm and he nodded slightly to Wan Ronghua.
"Brother Wan, please wait."
"I am sorry for disturbing you, Lord Qin." Wan Ronghua also smiled and nodded, looking sincere:
"Master Qin is of a high status, and his martial arts are unparalleled. He has already entered the first level of spiritual cultivation, and he is still so diligent in practicing martial arts. I am really ashamed..."
There are rumors outside that Wan Ronghua has climbed up the high branch of the Da Dao Sect. Although this is not wrong, Wan Ronghua is also self-aware.
It is true that Wan Ronghua is one of the four richest people in the imperial capital, but in the eyes of real big shots and big forces, such as the Da Dao Sect, to put it bluntly, he is just a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
So he came here.
If a first-rank military man serves as an official in the court, he will be granted the title of first-rank military official.
A "Sanguan" is an honorary title, which comes with salary and status but no real power. It should not be confused with a "sanguan" who has real power.
Civil and military officials of the first and second ranks have become the backbone of Dayan’s officialdom.
Although the first-rank official is a bit shorter, he is also quite extraordinary.
Qin Shiqing was obsessed with martial arts and had no intention of becoming an official. He joined the court only to seek a status, so he only asked for a position as the warden of the Tianlao, an undemanding job that only allowed him to suppress a certain area. He usually did not take care of things and seldom took any action.
Important places like Tianlao are always heavily guarded by soldiers and experts, and no reckless man has ever dared to attack it.
Even if the Wu Ji Society wanted to reach out to the Heavenly Prison, it would be somewhat troublesome, and they could only ask someone like Wayne, the Black-winged Bat King, who owed them a favor in the past, to do it for them.
So Qin Shiqing is actually very free on weekdays, and of course this is exactly what he wants.
He is only needed to come out and keep order in rare cases when dealing with important criminals.
This included the execution of Qiao Zhong at Caishikou.
This was also one of the reasons why Wan Ronghua came to the Qin Mansion.
"So, are you worried that the Qiao family will act recklessly like Qiao Shuanglin did before, relying on their martial arts to break into your mansion?" Qin Shiqing looked at Wan Ronghua with a smile.
"Master Qin is indeed a man of insight." Wan Ronghua sighed:
"This is an important place in the imperial capital, so naturally, the Qiao family will not be allowed to act recklessly. But if the Qiao family really dares to take action, they will certainly die afterwards, but it may be difficult for our Wan family to stop them."
Whether it is the Wan family's offerings or guards, they all do their jobs for money.
With Wan Ronghua's assets, it would be easy to use money to win over a top-three spirit-refining master, but it would be difficult to get someone to work for him.
But Qin Shiqing is different.
On the surface, Qin Shiqing was the executioner of Qiao Zhong that day. He broke Qiao Zhong's knee with one kick, which could be considered as a grudge between them.
Secretly, Qin Shiqing was in collusion with the Da Dao Sect... and this was another reason why Wan Ronghua came here.
"The Qiao family is quite protective of their people. It seems that they have other people who are already in the imperial capital, but are hiding in the dark..." Wan Ronghua described it carefully, but did not notice a flash of impatience in Qin Shiqing's eyes.
"That's it? Are you afraid of revenge from the Qiao family?"
Qin Shiqing's expression did not fluctuate, and he still had that half-smile on his face.
"It doesn't matter. I will take action when the time comes." He said calmly with an indifferent look.
Chapter 164 The Qiao family is unable to capture the soul
Inside the Taoist temple in the north of the imperial capital.
Taoist Qingyi had a rather unhappy look on his face as he was scolding Daozhen who was standing in front of him.
He already knew the whole story of the Caishikou incident.
"This matter is not your fault, but during this period of time, you should act more cautiously and spend less time with mortals." Qingyi scolded.
No matter which disciple of Daozhen or Daoxu was at fault, the Immortal Sect would never bow to the Great Yan court and hand over the disciple who killed someone in a busy city.
Ever since the Human King Sword in Emperor Yonghe's hand manifested the emperor's destiny, the attitudes of the Da Dao Sect and other immortal sects have changed intentionally or unintentionally.
It is not advisable to use force to oppress others, and it may even backfire. Once the resistance of the Great Yan court, or Emperor Yonghe, is aroused, things will be difficult to resolve.
With the strength of the nine great immortal sects, they would naturally not be afraid of a mere mortal emperor holding the Sword of the Human King.
But the immortal gate belongs to the immortal gate, and the immortal practitioners belong to themselves.
In the eyes of great immortal cultivators like Elder Qingyi, the current Emperor Yonghe is like a mop covered in shit, the reincarnation of Lu Bu.
Although they looked down on this ordinary emperor, they were unwilling to step forward and bring bad luck to Emperor Yonghe.
Therefore, asking Daoxu, the disciple of Elder Qingyi, to return to the mountain gate and reflect on his mistakes for ten years was, in Qingyi's view, a sign of the immortal sect's surrender.
If this matter were to get to the ears of other immortal sects, they would probably be laughed at.
People in the immortal way have long been extraordinary and detached from the mundane world. They are placed on the altars of ordinary mortals, and are worshipped and admired by them.
How do secular laws restrain cultivators
But even though Elder Qingyi scolded Daozhen, he appeared to be sincerely admitting his mistake, but he was a little absent-minded in his heart.
He was thinking about a question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.
"I have personally witnessed the deaths of two members of the Qiao family, Qiao Zhong and Qiao Shuanglin."
"But why... after they died, my soul-binding technique didn't succeed?"
Although the time from the death of the physical body to the disintegration of the soul is very short, it is still a process.
For a cultivator like Daozhen who has mastered the art of soul-binding, it is natural for him to capture the soul of a mortal who has just died.
But why... did it fail twice in a row
"These two members of the Qiao family seem to have something extraordinary..." Daozhen observed his nose and his heart, but he became suspicious.
But he did not ask when Elder Qingyi was angry.
Elder Qingyi had just warned him not to get too involved with mortals, and now he was asking questions. He was afraid that he would have to meet Senior Sister Daoxu again at the sect's Cliff of Repentance later.
He kept the doubt deep in his heart, but his curiosity about the Qiao family grew stronger.
“I don’t know how many people are left in the Qiao family. If they are all such extraordinary people, then it’s worth taking a closer look.” Daozhen’s mouth curled up slightly.
The old house of the Fang family.
Qiao Mu left the old house alone, and Fang Yuan saw him off at the door.
The two of them were a little stiff when interacting with each other, and there wasn't much politeness between them.
After all, the person who first met Fang Yuan was Qiao Zhong, the one who taught Fang Yuan was Qiao Shuanglin, and Qiao Senlin was another elder of the Qiao family who had just arrived in the imperial capital.
Moreover, Qiao Senlin came for revenge, which made Fang Yuan feel slightly guilty.
Of course, this was what Fang Yuan thought, not Qiao Mu.
Whether it is Qiao Zhong, Qiao Shuanglin or the current Qiao Senlin, they are just covered with a different skin, and the inside is the same.
The same mind, the same will, throughout.
"It's time to settle the grudge with Wan Ronghua." Qiao Mu thought to himself.
At first, he had no grudge against Wan Ronghua, but he heard that this tycoon in the imperial capital had caused Fang Yuan's family to be destroyed, so he took the initiative to get involved.